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The new state of the art Brewhouse at Farsons Brewery was inaugurated yesterday by the President of Malta Dr George Abela and blessed by Archbishop Paul Cremona in the presence of Farsons Group Chairman Mr Louis A Farrugia and Farsons Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Norman Aquilina.

The inauguration ceremony was also attended by the Acting Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Minister for Finance, Economy and Investment and a number of guests connected to the brewing industry from overseas.

The €12.5 million project is the final phase of an €40 million investment consisting of three capital projects that included a Soft Drink Packaging Centre and a Logistics Centre inaugurated in 2008. Construction of the new Brewhouse started in July 2010 and was completed in 24 months.

The new Brewhouse is a modern building with copper cladding, and incorporates a natural ventilation system, rain water harvesting and temperature insulation. Apart from the brewing plant, the building also houses a malt-handling and storage system, a rain water reservoir, a laboratory and offices. The new energy-efficient Brewhouse has been designed to cope with Farsons’ future brewing requirements with further improved quality, productive capabilities and cost efficiencies, thereby ensuring competitiveness in an ever-changing international market scenario.

In his address at the inauguration ceremony, Mr Louis A Farrugia, Farsons Group Chairman, said that the ability of a business enterprise to re-imagine its future and to re-engineer its operations accordingly, is of paramount importance, particularly in today’s dynamic and competitive world. “A willingness to embrace change and to make bold strides forward are an intrinsic part of the entrepreneurial culture of the Farsons Group.

“Since our inception, when we produced our very first brew, our beers have become an intrinsic, and highly appreciated, part of Malta’s way of life.To make great beers however, one needs a great brewery and the fact that we are here today, having reached another major milestone, is surely testament to our determination to look ahead, to invest in the quality of our beers and to shape our future, time and time again.”

“The project is outstanding on many counts; the scale of the investment itself is significant. The level of technology now available to us, with world-latest brewing processes and systems is remarkable. Also noteworthy are the building’s environmental and efficiency aspects,” continued Mr Farrugia.

Cost efficiencies will result from reduced shipping costs of bulk malt deliveries, automated malt handling, better yields and quality thanks to up-to-date technologies and automation, energy savings, as well as more efficient equipment with a dedicated energy recovery system.

Further energy savings will arise from lower energy use per litre of beer by energy recovery from the boiling process, low emissions from the boiling process, reduced use of packaging material for brewing materials that will be bought in bulk, buildings designed with thermal insulation to conserve energy, use of natural ventilation, and a rain collection system.

Like the previous two projects, the new Brewhouse project was managed entirely by a Farsons project team and Mr Farrugia expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to the team led by Farsons’ Chief Projects Officer, Mr Paul Micallef. He also extended his appreciation to Mr Alberto Miceli-Farrugia of Architecture Project (AP) and his team who were entrusted with the architectural design and structural planning of the building.

The plant, installed by Krones AG from Germany, includes twelve silos for malt storage, each capable of holding 90 tons of malt, equipment for malt milling, five main brewing vessels and wort cooling.

Farsons is synonymous with a brewing tradition rooted in quality. At the very base of this tradition are long-established skills of selecting nature’s best ingredients.

The finest imported malt and selected hops are coupled with the adoption of the best brewing methods and the expertise of skilled and dedicated brewmasters who give constant attention to detail to ensure that a high standard of quality is maintained at every step in the brewing process. Every single batch of beer is thoroughly tested and tasted.

“Over the years, since 1928, this dedication has consistently contributed to creating the award-winning brews so many have grown to appreciate time after time - awards that inspire our ongoing commitment to uphold a beer portfolio which has become our national pride,” concluded Mr Farrugia.

Mr Norman Aquilina, Farsons Group Chief Executive Officer,also addressed the guests, “This investment in our new Brew house will significantly contribute towards rendering our beer production more competitive, and as we all know, the foundation of success in any business is based on ensuring one’s competitive advantage – and in today’s world, it is clear that we cannot base our strategy on a static concept of competitive advantage – and sustaining such an advantage demands continued change and investment to ensure we are in line with market developments, well positioned to take on arising challenges and opportunities, and ideally also a step ahead of escalating competition. It is precisely this that we have been focusing on and will continue to focus our efforts – and today you are witnessing an important and very tangible part of this strategy.

“Our future outlook at Farsons is based on further growth – which, apart from our organic growth expectations, will continue to be spearheaded through more and more innovation, along with added focus on our export drive – and there is no doubt that this new Brew house will significantly contribute in both these areas.”

Two special brews Cisk Premium Pilsner and Simonds Special Premium Amber Ale were launched to coincide with the inauguration of the new Brewhouse and will now form part of Farsons’ portfolio of premium high quality beers.